


Photos from the past

by just_an_average_human



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: CONTENT WARNING:, Gen, Schlatt and Wilbur aren’t actually in this, Swearing, but the fic focus’ around their friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-27 15:55:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30125229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_an_average_human/pseuds/just_an_average_human
Summary: Tommy really wishes he didn’t have to do this. If it was up to him, he would have given Wilbur’s belongings to Phil, or Fundy, or Niki, for them to sort through.However, whilst doing so, he makes an unexpected discovery...
Relationships: Jschlatt & Wilbur Soot
Kudos: 39





	1. Discovery

**Author's Note:**

> Incase you didn’t read the tags, Wilbur and Schlatt don’t actually appear in this fic, the plot is just focused around their friendship
> 
> I’m not sure what inspired me to write this tbh
> 
> Find me on Tumblr @average-human-being

Tommy never thought he’d be back here. Back in Pogtopia. A dingy ravine, haunted by the memories of what took place within its walls. It was well and truly dead. More dead than it had been when it was used as a base of operations. Because that’s all it was- a refuge spot and hideaway for those who had been wronged by Manberg, and wanted revenge.

The place had been completely cleared out- chests looted for anything of value to the rebuild of L’manberg. There was no reason for Tommy to be back here.

No reason, except for one.

When Wilbur had handed Tommy a set of two keys, right before they stormed Manberg, and told him to “ _Keep them safe,”_ and that “ _They’ll be useful later,_ ” he hadn’t understood what he’d meant.

But now he does.

Tucked away in one of the far corners of Pogtopia was a door. A door that no one had been able to access. A door that led to the centre point of all the plans Wilbur had created to take down Schlatt.

The door led to Wilbur’s room. A room that had been untouched for the past week- until now.

Under that light of a single lantern, Tommy fumbles to get one of the keys into the lock. He gently pushes the door open, to reveal a small, man made cave containing; a desk, a bed, and a chest- all covered in a very thin layer of dust.

Tommy sets the lantern on the desk, and begins looking over the books, maps, and notes that are strewn all over it in an unorganised fashion.

He turns away from the desk, and crouches down in front of the chest, opening it to examine its contents. More journals, maps, and letters are inside, as well as some left over sand and gunpowder. He rolls his eyes, when he sees them, and slams the lid shut.

Tommy inspects the keys, again- the unused one definitely for a chest, but not this one. His eyes pan around the room again, before landing on the bed. It’s old and rickety, rattling as Tommy pulls it away from the wall to reveal a chest hidden underneath it. He knew it’d be there. He hadn’t spent half of his life knowing Wilbur, to not know where he’d hide his most valued possessions.

The key clicks in the lock, and the hinges creak as he opens it. Inside are a few journals (more personal ones, he suspects), some envelopes containing letters, dried flowers, and other assorted sea plants, some dark grey feathers, and a separate leather bound book.

Tommy put the contents of the chest into his backpack, as well as the other items in the room. Curiously, he opens the mysterious leather bound book, revealing it to be a photo album. He stares at the photos on the page, recognising himself and Tubbo in a few of them.

He’s completely lost in the world of the photos, when a haunting noise howls through the ravine- bringing him back to the present, and reminding him where he is. He tightly grips the book in his arms, no more room for it in his backpack, and leave Pogtopia- never to return.

—————

The first thing Tommy does, when he returns home, is empty the contents of his backpack onto the floor. He stacks the journals into two stacks (war and personal), gathers up the letters and papers into a bundle, and sets the maps into a separate pile.

God, he wishes he didn’t have to do this. If it was up to him, he would have handed all of Wilbur belongings to Phil, or Niki, or Fundy. But Tubbo had asked him to do this. Not as his friend, but as the president- and Tommy couldn’t say no.

He sits cross-legged, in front of the books and papers, leaning his elbows on his knees, and face in his hands. His eyes dart between the belongings, debating what to go through first, when he spots the photo album.

The book is heavy as he pulls it into his lap, opening it. On the first page was a hand written message;

_“Happy 16th, Wilbur._

_Never forget the memories that mean the most to you._

_-Dad”_

Tommy rolls his eyes, of course Phil would gift Wilbur something like this. He’d never received anything from him when he turned sixteen… then again, he was caught in the middle of a war when he did, and he hadn’t seen Phil in years.

He continues to the next page, which has individual photos of; himself, Wilbur, Techno, and Phil. Wilbur, Phil, and himself were all smiling, meanwhile Techno kept a straight face. Tommy chuckles, remembering how Wilbur had to bribe him to stand still for more than five seconds for it.

The next few pages contain more photos of the four of them. Techno, combat training. Phil, up in the air. Wilbur, playing guitar. And Tommy running around or up a tree- Tubbo appearing in the majority of them.

Tommy absentmindedly skim through them, eventually stopping when a new character appears. The first photo was of a town centre, a large group of pigeons gathered on the ground. The next was of the same flock, but this time there was a figure running towards them- yellow jumper and beanie- definitely Wilbur.

The third photo was of the same matter as the last, but this time contains a figure in a baby blue jumper- running at the pigeons at full speed. Tommy doesn’t recognise them, and they’re too blurred for him to make out any key features.

The fourth photo… there wasn’t one. It was missing. Tommy assumes there was one, at some point, due to the dried glue left of the page in a neat square shape. He doesn’t dwell on it for too long, things go missing sometimes, and moves on.

The book contains a lot of the key moments in Wilbur’s life. Bringing Fundy home, and watching him grow. Leaving home, and starting L’manberg. The last photo is from only a few months prior, and contains Tommy and Tubbo celebrating after they’d won independence from the Dream smp. 

The following pages are blank, and Tommy wonders if Wilbur ever intended to fill them.

Sighing, he closes the book, stands, and places it on a shelf with his other books. Since picking up the photo album, Tommy had forgotten about the rest of the book, and trips over them as he steps backwards- scattering them across the floor.

He groans in annoyance as he begins picking them up. As he lifts up the final journal, a piece of paper falls out and goes sliding across the floor. He picks up the paper, and flips it over- it’s a photo. Tommy’s eyes widen when he sees the image. There’s two people in the photo- both caught in laughter. The one in the right he immediately recognises as Wilbur- yellow jumper and beanie. The person on the left he doesn’t recognise, but he looks familiar. He’s wearing the same blue jumper as the person from the pigeon photos, and has his arm slung over Wilbur’s shoulder.

“No fucking way,” Tommy says, looking at the photo more closely, finally noticing the horns on the mystery person. He only knows one person, other than Tubbo, with horns- Schlatt. Is that Schlatt? With Wilbur? Both happy? To Tommy, they remind him of himself and Tubbo. Best friends, always smiling… so what happened?

Tommy turns to the book, looking for an answer. The first thing he notices is the date at the top of the page;

**_  
“September 22nd_ **

_Tommy and I have been exiled from L’manberg, by the person I thought would help me win its presidency._

_I should’ve known Schlatt would’ve changed. Him deciding to run against me was the first red flag, but I didn’t expect him to hold this much resentment towards me, or to view me as a threat to his success._

_It seems as though our friendship is beyond repair, and now I must do what I can to win back my country. This isn’t fair for either of us, especially Tommy. This conflict between Schlatt and shouldn’t have involved him.”_

He rereads the page three times over in complete disbelief. _“They were friends,”_ Tommy thinks, _“What the fuck happened?”_


	2. Closure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In order to find answers to the photo, Tommy makes a few visits...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr @average-human-being

“Oi, Ghostbur!” Tommy calls, making his way through the flower field.

Ghostbur looks up from where he’s crouched in a selection of white wild flowers, “Oh! Hello, Tommy!”

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Ghostbur nods as he returns to watching a bee buzz in and out of the flowers, “You have all of Wilbur’s memories, right?”

“Yes. Well, his happy ones, at least.”

“Right. Do you remember if Wil and Schlatt were ever friends?” Ghostbur freezes, drawing his hand in from the flower he was picking. “Ghostbur?”

He stands, the energy around him suddenly switching, “They were.”

“What happened?”

Ghostbur stiffens, “I’m sorry I don’t know. All the memories from that time are murky. I think something bad tainted them.”

Tommy sighs in defeat, looking around the field, contemplating what to do next. His eyes land on the flowers surrounding Ghostbur- their pristine white petals now tainted a navy blue. “Ghostbur?”

“Yes, Tommy?” His happy and carefree demeanour now having returned.

“Who… who else can I ask?”

“Have you asked Phil?” Tommy rolls his eyes, “or possibly Techno.” 

“Yeah, like I’d talk to a traitor.”

“Oh. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”

“It’s ok,” Tommy sighs, “It’s not your fault. Bye!” He waves, walking away.

“Bye bye!”

—————

Tommy hesitates before knocking on the wooden door- immediately regretting it. If he leaves now, no one will have ever seen him here. Yes, that’s a good idea. He turns around and is about to walk away when the door behind him creaks open.

“Hello, can I hel- Tommy?”

“Fuck!” He turns back around, “Hiii Phil.”

“So, what can I do for you?” He asks, leaning on the door frame, arms crossed.

“I need to talk to you about…” Tommy rethinks whether this is a good idea, and if he should just not bother, “It- it’s about Wilbur.”

Phil’s expression becomes downcast, “Oh. Well, you should probably come in then.” He walks back inside, and Tommy follows.

The house is small and fairly empty, containing a few chests, a furnace and crafting table, a bed, and a table. Tommy is surprised Phil decided to stay in L’manberg, after what happened. But he wonders if by staying and helping to rebuild, he’s trying to make up for what he did.

“So, what was your question?” Phil sits down at the table, and Tommy hovers in the centre of the room- the air is tense.

“Were Wilbur and Schlatt ever friends?”

Phil leans back in his chair, “I don’t know, why?”

“I found,” Tommy fumbles for the photo in his pocket, “this.” He hands it to Phil, who’s expression loosens as he looks over it. “I found it in an old photo album.”

“He kept it with him?” 

Tommy nods. “So were they?”

“I think so.” Phil hands the photo back to him and he puts it back in his pocket. “Wil would always go out for hours and hours, saying he was “with a friend”, but I never knew who it was.”

His expression falls slightly, “That went on for about three years. And then, the day after you and him left, a boy showed up at the door, asking if Wilbur was still here.”

“Was it Schlatt?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember what he looked like, he just said that if I ever saw Wil again to tell him the “‘J’ says he’s sorry.””

Tommy let’s out an annoyed sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. “Anything else?”

Phil shakes his head, “No. I’m sorry I can’t be of any more help, mate… Have you asked Techno? I know they were close.”

“Like I’d talk to that traitor.” He scoffs, already opening the front door.

“Tommy-“

“Thanks anyways, Phil.” The door slams shut as he marches away. More questions than when he left his house that morning.

—————

The fire is warm. It’s a stark contrast from when he’d been sat at the edge of Tnret, in front of a practically non existent flame, trying to keep warm and dry off from that day's rainfall.

As much as Tommy despises what Technoblade did to him and Tubbo, he’s internally grateful that he let him stay- after finding him burrowed under the floorboards, just a few days ago. He now sits atop those same floorboards, in front of the fire, silently looking through the photos had managed to save from Logstedshire. They’re fragile in his hands- as though they'll crumble if he holds them too tightly.

He stops when he lands on one he’d completely forgotten about- Wilbur and Schlatt. Tommy sighs, remembering how pressed he was for answers to this photo, just a month prior. The piece of paper is in the worst state out of them all- crinkled, frayed, and slightly ripped. He really should have taken more care of it.

Tommy goes to move the photo to the bottom of the stack, when Ghostburs words echo through his brain, “Have you asked Phil? Or possibly Techno?”

“Goddamn it,” he curses to himself, “Hey, Technoblade.”

“Hm?” Techno responds from where he’s sat at a table behind Tommy, writing in a book. 

“You and Wilbur were close right?”

“To an extent.”

“What happened between him and Schlatt?”

Techno stops writing, and looks over a Tommy, “Well, Schlatt exiled him. You were there for that, Tommy. He exiled you too.”

“No no, before.”

He tilts his head in confusion, “Before?”

Tommy places the other photos on the floor, makes his way over to Techno, and hands him the picture- Techno’s scowl softens as he looks at it, “Huh, I haven’t seen this in years.”

“What?”

“Who do you think took this photo?” He waves it, and Tommy stares back in confusion. Techno gestures across the table, and Tommy sits down on the opposing chair. “Let me guess, it was on a page with them scaring bird?”

Tommy nods, leaning forward in intrigue. He’d lost all hope in finding an answer, but now he was hopefully going to get it.

Techno closes the book, and sits up in his chair. “I found them causing trouble around town, hung with them for a few hours, and then me and Wilbur went home.”

“That’s it?”

“Well yeah. I never saw Schlatt after that. I know Wilbur kept hanging with him, but I didn’t know him too well... nor cared for that matter.” Techno hands the photo back to Tommy, who gently holds it as he stares at it.

“What happened? Why’d they stop?”

“Stop being friends?”

“Mhm,” he nods.

Techno sighs, taking off his glasses and placing them on the closed book. He leans back in his chair, and folds his arms over his chest- Tommy waits patiently.

“I’m not entirely sure. But a week before you and Wilbur left, he came home looking all defeated, but didn’t say anything about it,” he pauses, looking over at Tommy, “Do you remember?”

He slowly nods. Now that Tommy thinks about it, he does remember Wilbur being unusually agitated for that whole week before they left- ultimately chalking it down to the stress of leaving home.

“Well, I pressed him about it and he said he’d told Schlatt he was leaving in a week, and that he didn’t take it too kindly.” Techno waves his hand in a dismissive motion, “I don’t know, that guy probably thought he was abandoning him or something.”

The room falls silent.

“Phil said a kid showed up the day after we left, asking if Wilbur was home,” he pauses, “Was it Schlatt?”

Techno nods, “Yes. Said he wanted to apologise, but was too late. Not sure what happened from there.” 

“I think I can guess,” Tommy scoffs, pushing himself up from his chair, and going back to his place in front of the fire.

Finally, he had closure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading!!!
> 
> Find my on Tumblr @average-human-being

**Author's Note:**

> If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading!!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr @average-human-being


End file.
